Chapter 17 - DIANA’S FIRST LETTER
Diana wrote from prison when Emma was eight.
The letter went through attorneys because contact remained restricted.
Emma’s therapist screened it.
Diana wrote:
Emma,
I loved you and believed your father was letting you become fragile. I thought discipline would make you stronger. I was wrong to use the chain.
She did not mention starvation.
Medication.
The trust.
The vote.
Emma asked:
“Did she say sorry?”
“Partly.”
“What does partly mean?”
“She named one thing she did wrong and still explained it as helping.”
Emma thought.
“Was she helping?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t want it.”
The letter stayed sealed.
Two years later another arrived.
This time Diana wrote:
I withheld your medicine because I wanted your illness to look worse. I wanted adults to remove your father from a trust role so I could approve a business sale. I told myself you would recover.
Emma was ten.
Dr. Chen advised waiting.
At thirteen, Emma chose to read it.
Her face went pale.
“She made me sick for money?”
“For power and money connected to a sale.”
“Same thing.”
“Not exactly. But both mattered.”
“Did Grandma love me?”
“I think she felt love.”
“That’s disgusting.”
I let her feel it.
No lecture on complexity immediately.
Later she asked:
“Can someone love you and still be dangerous?”
“Yes.”
“Then love isn’t enough.”
“No.”
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That lesson arrived earlier than I wanted.
It also protected her from a lie many adults never unlearn.
